Quantum Charging Advantage Cannot Be Extensive Without Global Operations

TL;DR

This paper establishes that quantum batteries can only achieve extensive speedup in charging power through global operations, confirming that quantum advantages are limited to quadratic scaling over classical methods.

Contribution

It demonstrates that maximal quantum charging speedup is quadratic and requires global operations, clarifying the fundamental limits of quantum battery charging.

Findings

Maximal speedup is quadratic, not extensive.

Global operations are necessary for optimal charging.

Quantum advantage is limited to quadratic scaling.

Abstract

Quantum batteries are devices made from quantum states, which store and release energy in a fast and efficient manner, thus offering numerous possibilities in future technological applications. They offer a significant charging speedup when compared to classical batteries, due to the possibility of using entangling charging operations. We show that the maximal speedup that can be achieved is extensive in the number of cells, thus offering at most quadratic scaling in the charging power over the classically achievable linear scaling. To reach such a scaling, a global charging protocol, charging all the cells collectively, needs to be employed. This concludes the quest on the limits of charging power of quantum batteries and adds to other results in which quantum methods are known to provide at most quadratic scaling over their classical counterparts.